1. Valdivia, Chile, 22 May 1960 (9.5)
This earthquake killed 1655 people, injured 3000 and displaced two
million. It caused US$550 million damage in Chile, while the tsunami
that it spawned caused deaths and damage as far away as Hawaii, Japan
and the Philippines. The 'rupture zone' of the quake was more than 1000
km long. Two days after the initial quake, the nearby volcano Puyehue
erupted, sending ash and steam up to 6 km into the atmosphere over a
period of several weeks.
